BrewDog co-founder James Watt unveils new beer for ‘Punks’ who wish to be ‘Founders’
BrewDog co-founder James Watt says he is “not done” with creating a beer business as he launches his plans for Second Best with an invitation to those ‘Punks’ who backed him before
James Watt is looking to launch a new beer business (Image: Getty)
One of BrewDog’s co-founders is launching a new beer business and is offering ‘Punk’ investors who once backed the Scottish craft brewery to join him once again.
James Watt, who launched BrewDog with Martin Dickie in 2007, has unveiled plans for his new beer business, Second Best.
Watt told his followers on social media that he is “not done” with his “obligation” to “build a brilliant beer business and create value for them”.
BrewDog had four breweries and over 100 pubs worldwide at its peak but later fell on tough times. The craft been business collapsed with over £500m worth of debts before being snapped up by US-based Tilray this year.
Now Watt, who is married to TV personality and entrepreneur Georgia Toffolo, is now offering free shares to Equity Punk investors who lost out following BrewDog’s troubles. He announced that Equity Punk investors can “claim the exact stake you once held in BrewDog” for free with “no catches”.
His new brand, Second Best, has launched a website detailing the announcement and how Equity Punk investors can claim their stake.
Although Watt’s states a launch date for the new beer brand’s first products is not yet in place, the website shows cans for American Pale Ale, American IPA and a Export Hellas.
Watt issued a statement regarding the new beer business on Elon Musk’s social media platform X. He wrote: “Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business and create value for them.
“It was an obligation I took very seriously. And I, for one, am not done with that obligation. So today, I am introducing my plan to launch Second Best – a new beer business and an open invitation.
“If you were an Equity Punk investor, I am planning to allocate up to 19.3% of Second Best for you. You can claim the exact stake you once held in BrewDog, for free. No catches, no cash required, and your equity in Second Best will always rank alongside my own. You’ll own it. I’ll fund it. And I’ll dedicate myself to building it. You’re not shareholders this time. You’re Second Founders.
“We are going to start small, build from the ground up and focus on making the best versions of we can of our favourite beer styles. I am determined to build a world class beer business that we all collectively own.
“We don’t have a launch date quite yet – we will launch as soon as we can and when we have all the relevant licenses and legal consents in place. Because that may take some time, we are initially launching a really interesting alcohol adjacent concept (more on this soon). And you will also have the opportunity to own part of this exciting new brand for free.
“And of course, we will mark the official Second Best launch with an amazing beer event when the time comes! And as for the name, well if we get this right then the second beer business that we build together might just be the best one.”
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